Narrative Architecture - Design: Thomas Pynchon's House
The master design studio „Thomas Pynchon's House“ focused on selected narrative aspects of Thomas Pynchon's short story collection Slow Learner (1984) and his novel The Crying of Lot 49 (1965). Thomas Pynchon's writing style is classified as postmodernist, often creating a complex web of metalanguages (of science, philosophy, history and technology) that forms multi-layered, complex narrative patterns.The students were asked to analyze a particular story in order to translate its narrative logic into an architectural model. In addition, students were also asked to assign a function to their designs that also develops from the context of the story. The course involved a model making workshop led by Michael Hieslmaier.
Nadja Schaupp: "Under the Rose"
The triad forms the structural red thread running through Pynchon’s spy story „Under the Rose“ which has also informed the architectural design of the project: a hotel complex. The story is characterized by different triangular constellations which Pynchon applied to the narrative’s components: spatial setting, narrative genre, characters, point of view. At the beginning of the story, these levels can be clearly distinguished, however, as the plot proceeds, the triads intertwine with each other, so that the constellations get more and more complex. The design has been inspired by Michel Serres’s theory of the parasite in which every linear communication between a sender and a receiver is complemented by a third (unwanted) entity – the parasite. The different levels of the structure have been designed as expanding triangles, enabling changing shapes of the overall structure. Through the twisting of links and layers, new spatial situations, visual axes and modes of access can be generated. The parasite hotel is conceived as a place of encounter and temporary accommodation for the main characters of the story, tourists and spies.
Jomo Ruderer: "Under the Rose"
In „Under the Rose“ Pynchon reconstructs the Fashoda Incident of 1898, in which the colonial powers Great Britain and France faced off in South Sudan during their struggle for imperial dominance in Africa. This encounter is seen as having been a possible trigger for a „great war.“ The fictional story centers around the English spy Porpentine and plays out in „real“ historic settings. Porpentine’s antagonist is the German spy Moldweorp, whose belligerence stands in opposition to Porpentine’s peaceful ethos. Porpentine is supported by his colleague Goodfellow in trying to impede the catastrophe. In the end, Porpentine is murdered by the counterspy Bongo-Shaftsbury. Based on the constellation of characters, the design develops a spatial program at the real site of the military confrontation, recreating the visual axes of the military expansion lines of the two colonial powers. The covered outdoor spaces and the central atrium are designed to invite public encounter. The Fashoda Peace School project seeks to foster peaceful conflict resolution while at the same time acting as a monument to a prevented war.
Theresa Reisenhofer: "The Secret Integration"
Inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s short story „The Secret Integration,“ the design features a treehouse for the protagonist Carl. In Pynchon’s story, Carl is the African-American member of a group of white boys who find themselves confronted with the everyday racism of an American suburb. Only at the end of the story does the reader realize that Carl is, in fact, an imaginary construct of the white boys, enabling a natural and peaceful integration of Blacks beyond the stereotypes constructed by the white grown-ups. Carl functions as the key to a world without prejudice which, however, for Pynchon can only exist hidden far away from the racist reality of a white supremacist culture. The design of the treehouse follows the principle of an anamorphosis, reflecting the open-minded perspective of the boys. Its structural complexity is revealed only to those who are willing to look at reality from different points of view.
Nina Pertiller: "The Small Rain"
In Thomas Pynchon’s „The Small Rain“ private Nathan Levine’s lethargic existence at military base Fort Roach, Louisiana comes to an end when he finds himself confronted with a natural disaster. After a hurricane he is posted to the disaster area in order to help setting up a radio station. However, Levine prefers to help to recover the countless bodies – an act which runs counter to his state of his existential indifference. Pynchon’s literary strategy of using army slang, military terminology and technological analogies in order to tell a story about emotional confrontation with death is translated into an architectural design which functions as a mechanical system. On the level of story, Levine‘s inner, natural drive to break from the dullness of military routine is translated into the architectural structure of an observation towner in Cameron, Louisiana, which uses the wind speeds of the region in order to move five round viewing platforms up- and downwards. A spiral staircase enables access to the platforms during windless conditions.
Christa Gwercher: "The Small Rain"
Nathan Levine’s house is located at the bank of the Blind River, in the midst of Louisiana’s swamp lands. His house used to be a former swamp shack which he reconstructed using the material which was left behind after hurricane Audrey in June 1957 had turned the architecture on and around America’s Gulf Coast into a huge pile of debris. Levine’s humble shack is furnished with a mattress and an old microwave which he has somehow connected to the public power supply system. Next to the shack, a rain barrel serves the function of a bathroom. A stranded shrimp boat, which is connected to the bank through a wooden dock, has been transformed to an outdoor living room, where Levine, hanging out in his hammock, gets lost in the fictitious worlds of his trashy novels.
Barbara Gruber: "Entropy"
The „Treppenhaus“ (Stairwell Home) sits in a formally vacant lot which is located at the corner of Pennsylvania Ave and 15th Street in Washington, D.C.. Inspired by the polarity of the protagonists of Pynchon’s short story „Entropy,“ the building follows the logic of a stairwell in which the stairs itself turn into habitable space. The narrative space that is generated through the typography of the characters’ names –– Meatball (dynamic, social) and Callisto (static, encapsulated) –– is, at the same time, an entropic space in which the constant exchange of information and harmonic living together becomes possible.
Maria Schabernig: The Crying of Lot 49
The spatial concept of „Oedipa’s Bungalow“ is based on the three central stages that Oedipa Mass goes through in The Crying of Lot 49. The bungalow consists of three structures: a garage, the main house and the guest house. While the narrow and dark space of the garage was inspired by Oedipa’s initial stage as a bored housewife, the living area of the main house is open and complex and is characterized by large glass surfaces which direct the light from the two courtyards into the living area. The boundaries between interior and exterior thus are constantly blurred. The game with spatial borders symbolizes Oedipa’s adventure that begins when she starts her journey to execute the will of Pierce Inverarity. The guest area symbolizes the final scene of the novel, in which Oedipa becomes a silent observer in the room, waiting for No.49 to be auctioned. The bungalow is located in the trendy Marina District, at the corner of Pierce Street and Post Street in San Francisco.
Stefan Rojer: The Crying of Lot 49
The task of execution which is given to Oedipa Maas in Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot No. 49 has inspired the design for an administrative campus located in Seestadt Aspern. Following the different stages of Oedipa’s journey, the official channel, which is 300 meters long, leads the client through a space which constantly increases in complexity. While the entrance hall is part of the structure of an unimpressive local single-family home, the exit area is part of the most magnifical building in town, which, however, turns out to be mere facade. The spatial program of MA 49 includes many different administrative departments and service points and serves the purpose to respond most effectively to the demands of the clients. At the same time the channel of public administration becomes spatially measurable. Still, the actual efficiency of the architectural structure depends on the work ethic of its 490 employees.
Gunter Peyerl: The Crying of Lot 49
The Oedibar is part of a Victorian rowhouse at Broderick Street 1709 in San Francisco. Like a mask, the facade alienates that which lies behind. Upon entrance a dome emerges, in which a long counter is placed. The bar represents a space of direct and interpersonal communication, a microcosm where Oedipa, the protagonist of Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 can retreat into different worlds. Whiskey-Sour, Jack Daniels, tequila, absinthe, beer, Napa-Valley Muscat, bourbon, and other drinks make sure that visitors soon reach a constant state of dizziness. The main portal defines the access to Oedipa‘s apartment: a „tower apartment“ which is housed in a high and bleak space and which only includes a mirror, wardrobe, desk, bed and bathroom. The tower supports Oedipa in her stream of thought and striving for coherence and subverts the dualism of light and dark.
Caroline Leixner: The Crying of Lot 49
The Pierce Inverarity Library is located in Pacifica, a small town on California’s Westcoast. The collection offers 49.000 books which were published between 1960 and 1970 and which cover the academic fields of jurisprudence, psychology, philosophy, american history, technology and physics, literature and dramatics. The library was financed by the generous donation of Pierce Inverarity, one of the biggest real estate brokers of California. The spatial concept is inspired by the distribution of information to which Oedipa Maas, the protagonist of Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, is exposed. Thus the flow of information is defined through architectural elements such as hallways, barriers, visual axes, entrances and exits. Each room functions as a sort of filter. The reading room has a large glass window which offers a specatular view of the coast, making it the perfect place for knowledge transfer and contemplation.
Ramona Kraxner: The Crying of Lot 49
The single-story atrium house is situated amidst different channels of public and private „communication levels“ such as streets and different places in San Francisco, California, more precisely at No. 2400 Fulton Street, which limits the Golden Gate Park northwards. This central location in the city enables passersby as well as residents (while they, for example, drive through, stroll or look out of their windows) getting a glance of Oedipa and her home in very different ways––or not at all. It depends solely on Oedipa’s willingness to open herself up so she can shut the house off: This happens as the skin of the house represents the only possibility to store her belongings at all. Because of this exposition of her own information in form of everyday things Oedipa gets exactly what she needs: the calm and privacy of a home which matter more to her than the simple illusions of freedom and speed.
Sophie Köhler: "Entropy"
The new home of the writer of the city is located on the Grazer Schlossberg, close to the Cerrini Schlössl, where the writer of the city used to work and live. Inspired by the narrative structure of Pynchon’s short story „Entropy“, the building is divided in two levels: the ground floor, which is modelled after the dynamic plot line of Meatball, is meant to motivate the social interaction between the writer of the city, tourists and locals. The upper level is modelled after Callisto’s static plot line and functions as a space for rest and retreat. The skin of the building also includes a curtain, which covers both levels. Through the opening and closing of the curtain wall transparency and porosity can be regulated.
Michael Knappitsch: The Crying of Lot 49
An extraordinary event architecture is being built in Graz’ Reitschulgasse: The trister(e)o. The three-story building’s facade ironizes that of its predecessor from the late 19th century using many stylistic details. Entering the building through an enormous revolving door made of glass, the visitor is surprised by a spectacular atrium which extends to the very top of the building and is surrounded by balconies. The walkways lead to different types of vertical access. Similar to the space of an opera house, the gangways are positioned around a stage. There, the vigilant visitor finds vending machines dispensing nearly invisible earpieces from which sound sequences, not necessarily music, emerge. Thus, the visitor feels traced by acoustic as well as spatial coincidences, starting to question banalities and historic architectural structures…
Susanne Kerndle: The Crying of Lot 49
House Oedipa is located on 649 Radio Road, on the south-western slope of Bruno Mountain, California. The oblong structure is divided into three levels which represent Oedipa‘s communication behavior (inspiration, information, identification) in Pynchon‘s The Crying of Lot 49. The bottom level constitutes the private zone containing a bedroom and a bathroom as well as a dressing room which is positioned on the stairway. The living and dining area on the central level connects directly to the public zone which includes a free gallery space (inspiration), a library covering the stairway (information) and the entrance (identification). The design parameters consist of interpersonal communication, media consumption as well as the lack of communication. The frequent occurrence of personal communication leads to the distorted façade. Text passages in which no communication occcurs are translated into window-like incisions in the façade.
Alexander Herzog: The Crying of Lot 49
The new branch of the Museum of Modern Art San Francisco is located in a quarry next to San Rafael, California and exhibits artwork in the field of architecture and design from the 1960s. Visitors enter the museum via an elevator shaft, thus getting a first insight into the complex depth of the museum’s structure. Individual channels protrude from the quarry, offering the visitor fascinating views of a man-made environment; a cultural wasteland, which becomes a strong symbol for the intellectual impoverishment that characterized American society after World War II. Inspired by the mostly meaningless communication scenarios in which Oedipa Maas, the protagonist of Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 is involved, the winding hallways lead back to the spatial center of the structure which is defined by a spectacular atrium.
